Archive for July, 2010

I haven’t managed to buy new needles for the sewing machine yet so haven’t got much further on the latest project. Thanks all for the advice and encouragement! I will definitely try out different needles with this fabric and the petroleum jelly trick. However it occurred to me that this dress isn’t particularly ambitious in […]

My latest project has been slow to get started because of a problem with creases. It started with the metallic drill I bought in London a few weeks ago. I’m a sucker for anything sparkly and this fabric is both sparkly and yet subtle enough to wear to work. It’s supposedly 93% cotton and 7% […]

I love Vogue patterns. I don’t know exactly what it is about them but in general they appeal to me far more than McCalls, Simplicity, or New Look. It’s not just the lure of ‘designer’ patterns because I often find myself passing over those in favour of the Easy Options and Divine Details ranges. Maybe […]

I finally finished the shirt. I’m pleased with it although, as always, there are things that could be improved. The fit isn’t quite right around the arms, so I’m getting creases across the top of the sleeve. It’s maybe clearer from the back view where there’s a funny fold near my armpits. It’s not uncomfortable […]

I’ve been making a BurdaStyle shirt in a fairly transparent electric blue muslin. Burda’s instructions were great, for once. None of that reading everything seven times before it even starts to make sense. Considering I’ve never made anything with a collar stand before that’s a pretty good recommendation. However BurdaStyle doesn’t tell you things like […]

Ages ago I read an interesting post on A Dress A Day about finding your personal style, or something along those lines. I can’t find the post now to check. The gist of it was to read fashion magazines, tear out all the pictures you like, and once you’ve collected a few sit down and […]

I can’t remember the last time I sewed something that wasn’t a sleeveless dress. After I finished the balloon dress I’d run out of planned projects and inspiring fabric so I had a rummage through my old copies of Burda and checked out the online pattern stores in the hope of finding something different to […]